More non-UFAs are being discussed
Greg Whyshynski: There were a couple of executives who have said that there are some non-UFA players who they thought wouldn’t be available have been mentioned in trade talks.
The theory behind this could be that the prices for previously mentioned players have been so high, that other GMs are testing out to see if anything could happen.
Provorov is not going anywhere
Anthony Di Marco: There has been some speculation over the future of Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov.
Checked in with a source to see if there is any possibility that Provorov could be moved: “No. Not at all.”
Flames will keep Gaudreau talks quiet
Tim Campbell of NHL.com: The Calgary Flames hope to sign pending UFA forward Johnny Gaudreau to a long-term extension. They will be keeping things quiet on that front according to GM Brad Treliving.
“It’s the same thing we’ve said all year,” Treliving said. “We’re going to let that take care of itself behind closed doors. So it’s been a non-issue.
“Johnny’s a huge part of our team, drives our offense. We want to get him back. We want to sign him here long term but we’ve put all the focus on just worrying about playing the games here right now. We’ve stayed in touch with his representatives and we’ll deal with that quietly and away from the spotlight.”
Other free agents for the Flames this offseason are RFAs Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane and UFA Nikita Zadorov.
Treliving on the trade chatter around the league with the deadline approaching.
“I would call it normal. Kind of quiet recently. Everybody’s done their calls to see where everybody’s at. You’ve got some people that want to buy, some that are sellers and you’ve got a group of teams that are waiting. Over the course of the next week to 10 days, depending on how games go, it may push people into one camp or the other. You have a pretty good idea of what’s out there, what could be had and what the prices are likely to be and I think this is the time where it settles and you’ve got teams that are waiting and the dynamic of the deadline has changed in recent years.
Treliving continues that so many playoff contending teams are at or near the cap ceiling.
“There’s always activity but it’s more now that everybody that’s in the playoffs is up at or near the cap so everybody needs the time to accrue as much as they can accrue. I think it’s normal and the calm right now but it’ll pick up as it normally does.”